Bats Come Alive, Mets Tie NLCS
October 15, 2006 by Geoff Young
Filed under Playoffs
A day after being blanked by the Cardinals in St. Louis, the New York Mets pounded out 14 hits en route to a 12-5 victory at Busch Stadium. In a pitching matchup that didn’t figure to prevent runs, the Mets’ Oliver Perez “earned” the win over Anthony Reyes.
Perez allowed allowed all five runs in 5 2/3 innings, serving up solo homers to David Eckstein, Jim Edmonds, and Yadier Molina. When you’re letting guys like Eckstein and Molina go yard, that’s not a good sign.
Fortunately for the Mets, Reyes wasn’t particularly sharp either and was yanked for a pinch-hitter after just four innings. What followed was a complete collapse by the Cardinals bullpen, most notably Josh Hancock, who faced five batters without recording a single out. All five would come home to score.
The game may not have been pretty, but for the Mets and their fans, the result certainly was. There are no style points in baseball, only wins and losses. And with a much needed win on Sunday, the team from New York is right back in this series.
